MLA Citations – Style Reference Sheet Library Phone: (425) 739-8100 X 8320 Library@Lwtech.Edu

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MLA Citations – Style Reference Sheet Library Phone: (425) 739-8100 x 8320 [email protected] | http://lwtech.edu/library

MLA Style is a writing and citation style defined by the Modern Language Association, most commonly used within the liberal arts and humanities.

Section 1: Citation Format Changes to MLA Citation Style The 8th edition to the MLA style does not distinguish citation formatting by type of source. Instead, core bibliographic elements are included in a set order. Elements not relevant to the citation style are omitted. If given, include the following elements in a citation in this order:

1. Author. Sometimes, elements 3-9 will repeat again, if say, your journal was inside 2. Title of source. a database. 3. Title of container, 4. Other contributors, Putting it all together: 5. Version, Goldman, Anne. “Questions of Transport: Reading Primo Levi Reading 6. Number Dante.” The Georgia Review, vol. 64, no.1, 2010, pp.69-88. JSTOR, 7. Publisher, www.jstor.org/stable/41403188. 8. Publication date, 9. Location.

Examples of citation by format

Book, Garcia Marquez, Gabriel. Love in the Time of Cholera. Vintage, Single Author 1988. Book, Casell, Kay Ann and Uma Hiremath. Reference and Information Two Authors Services in the 21st Century: An Introduction. Neal-Schuman, 2004.

(NOTE: Authors should be listed in the order they are listed on the title page.)

Book, Robbins, Chandler S., et al. Birds of North America: A Guide to Three or More Authors Field Identification. Golden, 1966. Book, Homer. The Odyssey. Translated by Robert Fagles, Viking, 1996. with Translator or other contributors Here are other common descriptions: Adapted by, Directed by, Edited by, Illustrated by, Introduction by, Narrated by, Performance by.

A work (e.g., essay, short story) in Kimball, Jean. "Growing Up Together: Joyce and Psychoanalysis, an anthology or compilation. 1900-1922." Joyce through the Ages: A Nonlinear View, edited by Michael Patrick Gillespie, UP of Florida, 1999, pp. 25-45. Book, Blamires, Harry. The New Bloomsday Book: A Guide through Ulysses. Later Edition 3rd ed., Routledge, 1996. Article in an Online Database Hannah, Daniel K. "The Private Life, the Public Stage: Henry James in Recent Fiction." Journal of Modern Literature, vol.30, no. 3, 2007, pp. 70-94. JSTOR, www.jstor.org.ezproxy.lib.uwf.edu/stable/30053134.

Note: When including a URL, omit the http:// and https://

Article in Print Journal Hannah, Daniel K. "The Private Life, the Public Stage: Henry James in Recent Fiction." Journal of Modern Literature, vol.30, no.3, 2007, pp. 70-94.

Last updated February 2017 by Sue Wozniak, Faculty Librarian Website (Whole site) Farkas, Meredith. "Tips for Being a Great Blogger (and a Good Person)." Information Wants to Be Free, 19 July 2011, meredith.wolfwater.com/ wordpress/2011/07/19/tips-for-being-a-great-blogger-and-good-person/.

Note: When including a URL, omit the http:// and https://

YouTube Video Farkas, Meredith. Information Wants to be Free. Jun. 2015, Meredith.wolfwater.com. Podcast "Chapter I: If You Keep Your Mouth Shut, You'll Be Surprised What You Can Learn. " S-Town from Serial and This American Life. stownpodcast.org/chapter/1. Accessed 8 May 2017. Tweet @LibraryLearningCommons. “The 2018 Winter Olympics begins today! What’s your favorite Winter Games event?” Twitter, 9 February 2018, 8:01 a.m., https://twitter.com/TheLWTech/status/9619935508703335488. Television Show on Streaming Platform "A Fish Out of Water." Family Guy, season 3, episode 10, Fox Broadcasting Company, 19 September 2001. Hulu, www.hulu.com/watch/171063.

Section 2: In-Text Citations Parenthetical Citation in Text In-text citations appear in the body of your paper. They identify your use of an idea or quotation from one of your sources. The MLA Handbook uses the author-page citation system for in-text citations. Example of Paraphrased In-Text Citation: Ancient writers attributed the invention of the monochord to Pythagoras, who lived in the sixth century BC (Marcuse 197).

The parenthetical citation “(Marcuse 197)” tells the reader that the information in the sentence was derived from page 197 of a work by an author named Marcuse. If the reader wants more information about this source, they can turn to the works cited list, where a complete citation for Marcuse’s work will be found.

Example of Quoted In-Text Citation: According to some, dreams express "profound aspects of personality" (Foulkes 184), though others disagree.

The quoted phrase, “profound aspects of personality”, uses the exact wording of the author to share the tone of the information as well as the meaning. A complete citation of Foulkes’ work will also be listed on the Works Cited page.

Note: Every in-text citation must correspond to a source in your Works Cited page.

Section 3: Synthesizing Research Sources When using sources in your paper it’s important to show readers where you used your sources to develop your argument and analysis. Signal phrases alert your readers that you are about to refer to your research, either by paraphrasing or with a quote. The signal phrase shows how the information from one source relates to that of another by relating the ideas in your own voice. This synthesis creates the flow of how you contribute to the research conversation.

Example of Signal Phrase: Dr. Sue Biggins, genetics and biology researcher at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, proclaimed the environment of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center provides great hope for finding effective cancer treatments: “It isn’t about playing it safe or working alone. It isn’t about empire building. It’s not full of policies and politics to trip over. It’s all about having the freedom to do the best, most unconventional science possible” (3).

Section 4: Works Cited Page Reference Citations: Information about the sources you use in your work are included as a separate list at the end of the paper. The MLA Handbook suggests using the title, "Works Cited", for the list. Formatting of Works Cited page:  Begin your Works Cited page on a separate page at the end of your research paper.  Label the page Works Cited, centered at the top of the page.  Double space all citations.  Indent the second and all following lines of a citation by 0.5” to create a hanging indent.

Example of a Works Cited page: Works Cited

An Inconvenient Truth. Directed by Davis Guggenheim, performances by Al Gore and Billy West, Paramount, 2006.

Dean, Cornelia. "Executive on a Mission: Saving the Planet." The New York Times, 22 May 2007,

www.nytimes.com/2007/05/22/science/earth/22ander.html?_r=0. Accessed 12 May 2016.

Leroux, Marcel. Global Warming: Myth Or Reality?: The Erring Ways of Climatology. Springer, 2005.

For additional information, visit OWL Purdue Online Writing Lab MLA Formatting and Style Guide at https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

Sources Used in this Resource This resource was developed out of and adapted from the following sources:

Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed. New York: Modern Language Association of American, 2009. The Online Writing Lab at Purdue, Glendale Community College’s MLA Style Guides, Bedford St. Martin’s Diane Hacker. MLA Style, 8th Edition, LibGuide, University of West Florida. MLA Style Guide, 8th Edition: About MLA by Angie Neely-Sardon, Indiana River State College, CC-BY-NC-SA. OWL Purdue Onilne Writing Lab, MLA Formatting and Style Guide.